2024 Quiver

[mca80]

Nice batch of kindling there mca!

If you couldn't tell, I was expecting more snowfall and wanted to ensure the wood stayed well elevated and in direct line of wind. Most of that gets used in the sauna.

[phoenix]

"If you couldn't tell, I was expecting more snowfall and wanted to ensure the wood stayed well elevated and in direct line of wind. Most of that gets used in the sauna."

I totally get it! I always keep the wood off the ground and covered. Good size splits for the sauna stove!

[Erik H]

here are the skis that I used this season
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ski descriptions from left to right:
147?(I think) cm fischer skate revolutions with rottefella nnn bindings, these are actually my Mom's skis that she lets me use, I use some of her other skate skis too but these are my favorite, especially for crust skating, their short length also makes them a joy for turning

176 cm rossignol evo glades with rottefella nnn bindings. these are my dad's rock skis but I ended up using them a lot for coaching a kids nordic touring group that often meets at areas with thin snow coverage. I found them to also be pretty fun for turning due to their short length.

186 cm fischer adventure 62 with atomic nnn bindings. I use these for off trail nordic touring and some xcd, they are super fun for yo-yo-ing during corn season. I also use these
for coaching when we go to areas with better coverage.

215 cm rossignol randonee with 3 pins. I use these occasionally as kind of a fun retro thing at the local ski area and sometimes use them for touring. they are quite miserable when conditions aren't ideal and so therefore don't get much use.

190 cm åsnes nansen with voile 3 pin HW. I use these for BC nordic touring as well as XCD. I sometimes take these to the local ski area with my leathers and find them to be very fun for that.

160 cm K2 wayback 88 with 22 designs hammerheads. these are my resort tele skis and probably the ones I use the most, I also use these occasionally in the BC.

[Bohemian]

Used these skis this winter:

-old Atomic ARC 195 with 3-pin rat traps, must be from around 1990, these are now my rock skis, got them from Oslo late 2022.
-Aasnes Combat Nato 195 with Voile HD Mountaineer bindings (old NOS) directly on the ski, with short and long skins, both nylon.
-Rossignol BC100 180 with Voile Switchback, with 3/4 skins
And I did 1 tour with my Fischer Traverse 78 176 with Voile 201 bindings: these skis will be for my girlfriend (same weight range as myself, of course she can use any of my skis too if she wants).
Boots:
New Alico Artic green: I quite like them! Used them with the Aasnes and the Atomic skis.
Also did 1 short tour with my Alico Ski March: still not sure whether my feet and those boots will ever become friends...
With the Rossis I used only my old Scarpa T2.

This past winter altogether 23 ski tours + 5 days using ski lifts. Did some of those lift served days with the Rossi skis and some of it with my carving snowboard & hardboots The Rossis are definitely not nice on very steep rock hard artificial snow but nice on any kind of halfway soft snow. For next year I'm not sure yet what to use for those few days of lift-served skiing with friends.

So apart from those few days lift-served most of my skiing was backcountry / XCD + some tours steep enough for plastic boots (more details later in the tread messing around in the Bohemian Forest and Eastern Alps).

Rossi BC100: amazing how far/steep uphill I could sometimes go without skins! And also amazing how rubbish 3/4 skins are when I went only a bit steeper than I could without skins: the least bit of sliding back causes the back end of the skins to curl up... really pleads for full length mohair skins. Downhill: getting used to the straightness of them and maybe my rubbish technique is improving?
Interesting to observe how thin / flimsy the steel edges are and how fragile the top sheets are...

Aasnes Combat Nato: downhill: with the leather boots, like the old Atomics, they force me to apply better technique but I very much enjoyed them! Also going the distance in rolling hills was fun ; breaking trail in knee deep fresh powder is a joy! More of that next winter, perhaps also in steeper terrain (try with the plastic boots too?).

Atomic ARC: for freebie skis they are awesome! Actually too nice to abuse as rock skis but like the Aasnes they made me enjoy using grip wax.

The Fischer Traverse 78 are definitely also nice skis, the shorter length is handy in the forest but I think for that purpose I may as well use up the old S-bound 98 and let my better half have her dedicated set of skis (perhaps she might later enjoy the Aasnes Combat Nato, too, we'll see.) For going the distance I think I prefer the Aasnes.

[timpete]

This is one of the best threads in a while. Super interesting to read what you all actually ski and for what use cases! Much better than people debating stuff

Could be some selection bias here but interesting to see so few Xplore bindings in this thread, given how often they are discussed and seen in shops.

@Bohemian how would you compare the Alico green arctics with Alico Ski March? I have the latter from telemark Pyrenees and am tempted to grab Arctics. I like the higher cuff (and they also just look better to my eye.) I do like how my Ski Marches ski, I just don’t get out enough to break them in (flatlander who goes west a couple times a year)

[phoenix]

"They were popular in the Daks back in the 80's. I remember people skiing them with heavy leather boots. They were good turners." (Regarding lowangleal's epoke 900's)

I lived in the Daks from around 1980-2001. I had some 900's, and then a pair of the 1000's, which were even better turners. I worked at a couple of shops there over the years where we had a rack full of Epoke's, they were definitely the ski of choice, and yeah always skied with sturdy leathers, the Merrell XCD's being the most popular.

[Bohemian]

@Bohemian how would you compare the Alico green arctics with Alico Ski March? I have the latter from telemark Pyrenees and am tempted to grab Arctics. I like the higher cuff (and they also just look better to my eye.) I do like how my Ski Marches ski, I just don’t get out enough to break them in (flatlander who goes west a couple times a year)

My Ski March boots are the NOS ex British Army ones that were (still are?) sold off on Ebay : Norwegian welt and very very stiff... even after 2 years... The Artic Greens are fairly soft, I think similar to Alpina Alaska. The Artics are much taller than my Ski March. I much prefer the Artics for when it's more about covering distance than real downhill fun as I have my plastic boots for that. I'll keep the Ski March boots but they will probably not see much use. See also the posts in the gear review part of this forum.

[fisheater]

My Ski March is 7 years old and comfortably broken in, however still in very nice condition. It is my go to boot for touring for turns in my Falketind X. It’s the boot for steeper more challenging descents, probably what guys would want the Alpha Free for. When it’s more rolling XC, but I just want to turn more, Alaska 75 is just fine.
@Bohemian thank you for the comparison of the Telemark Pyrenees Alico to the Alaska. I am interested in that boot, but I have been fortunate, my Alaska 75 is still performing. I have four or five years of light use on my Alaska 75. My Alaska BC sees more use in an average winter.

[Bohemian]

My Ski March is 7 years old and comfortably broken in, however still in very nice condition. It is my go to boot for touring for turns in my Falketind X. It’s the boot for steeper more challenging descents, probably what guys would want the Alpha Free for. When it’s more rolling XC, but I just want to turn more, Alaska 75 is just fine.
@Bohemian thank you for the comparison of the Telemark Pyrenees Alico to the Alaska. I am interested in that boot, but I have been fortunate, my Alaska 75 is still performing. I have four or five years of light use on my Alaska 75. My Alaska BC sees more use in an average winter.

Hi Fish!
Please bear i mind that I have never used the Alpina Alaska myself: my "comparison" was only to unused much larger size Alpina Alaska, they look and feel almost the same. Some here on this forum wrote that the Alico Artic is slightly stiffer than the Alpina Alaska. For sure the Artics are much softer than the ex army Ski March boots from the same manufacturer. I consider the Artic a very nice touring boot, won't hesitate to use these for a multi day trip between huts.
I'll keep treating the Ski March boots with black Nikwax, hopefully they will become a bit softer. Already because of so many more lashings I find I can better tie the Artics to my feet than the Ski March, much more comfortable. And for touring for turns I feel quite happy with my plastic boots, for now. As my technique improves I may do some more downhill fun in soft snow with the leather boots on any of my narrow skis.